Meet the Newest Applicants for the Court of Special Appeals

By Chris Mincher

As indicated in the applicants list posted on the Maryland Judicial Vacancies website yesterday, more than 25 candidates have lined up to jockey for Judge Zarnoch’s seat on the Court of Special Appeals. As to be expected, there is remarkable variety in the group, from current sitting judges to esteemed public servants to distinguished private practitioners to versatile legal minds who have done a bit of it all. Below is the lineup with the applicants’ web pages and current gigs; from what we could briefly scrape off those pages – which is obviously limited by the availability of public bios and the information on them – we also cobbled some numbers to demonstrate the diversity of experience among this round of bench-seekers.

Judicial Experience

Applicants who have worn robes in the following roles:

Maryland Circuit Court Judge	9
Maryland District Court Judge	5
U.S. Magistrate Judge	1

Public Service

Applicants who have served in the following offices:

Maryland Attorney General	5
State’s Attorney	4
State Public Defender	3

Other public service employers include: U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Department of Justice, Assistant U.S. Attorney, Attorney Grievance Commission, and County Attorney.

Clerkships

Applicants who have clerked on the following courts:

Court of Special Appeals	2
Maryland Circuit Court	2
U.S. Circuit Court	1
U.S. District Court	1
Maryland Court of Appeals	1

Law Schools

Applicants who attended the following law schools:

Maryland Law	8
Baltimore Law	4

Other law schools include: Harvard Law, Columbia Law, Duke Law, Virginia Law, Boston College Law, Washington and Lee Law, Michigan Law, George Washington Law, and Howard Law.

Firms

Not much overlap that’s readily apparent, but two candidates in the mix (Gardner M. Duvall and the Hon. Judith Claibourne Ensor) have been partners at Whiteford|Taylor|Preston.

Bloggers

Karen Federman Henry and Brad McCullough are both on the editorial board of this Blog (but neither contributed to this post).

APPLICANTS FOR THE COURT OF SPECIAL APPEALS

The Hon Krystal Quinn Alves (Prince George’s County Circuit Court)

Andrew Howard Baida (Rosenberg Martin Greenberg)

The Hon. Keith Andrew Baynes (Cecil County Circuit Court)

The Hon. Donald E. Beachley (Washington County Circuit Court)

Cathleen Cawley Brockmeyer (Maryland Attorney General)

The Hon. Audrey J.S. Carrion (Baltimore City Circuit Court)

Harriett Ellen Cooperman (Saul Ewing)

Gardner Mareen Duvall (Whiteford|Taylor|Preston)

The Hon. Judith Claibourne Ensor (Baltimore County Circuit Court)